Opinion

The Yemen stalemate

November 27, 2018
The Yemen stalemate

Hamoud Abu Taleb

Okaz

The Houthi militia, as the world knows very well, is the one who is foiling all political initiatives for finding peace in Yemen. It uses any ceasefire to reposition and reorganize.

MANY voices in the West, be it politicians, media or human rights organizations, are pointing to the coalition forces fighting to restore legitimacy in Yemen as the ones responsible for the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country.

They put the blame squarely on Saudi Arabia, which is leading the coalition. They pin the primary responsibility for the humanitarian disaster in Yemen on the military operation led by Saudi Arabia, and make it out that the Kingdom does not want any political solution to the Yemeni crisis.

They look at it as if the military solution is the only option for Saudi Arabia or as if Saudi Arabia had rejected all previous political initiatives presented by the United Nations or other countries. It happened in the past and it is happening now after the announcement of the upcoming negotiations in Sweden by the end of next month.

This however is not true. They are presenting an incomplete picture, totally ignoring the main reasons that led Yemen to disaster. Saudi Arabia welcomed and supported all initiatives in the past for a political solution.

The Houthi militia, as the world knows very well, is the one who is foiling all political initiatives for finding peace in Yemen. It uses any ceasefire to reposition and reorganize.

Sympathizers with the Houthis should count how many times they foiled initiatives for dialogue to save Yemen from the abyss. They set certain conditions that are hard to accept for the negotiations to begin. Apparently, their aim is to foil any attempt for a political solution because the Houthis do not want peace in Yemen and they do not care about the country›s future.

Now they are repeating the same situation ahead of the Swedish meeting to foil the initiative before it starts.

The Houthis presented unreasonable conditions to the UN special envoy, who is presently in Yemen to pave the way for a political dialogue.

No one wants the war in Yemen to continue. The coalition forces want to end this war as quickly as possible, but they are facing fabrications and lies from the Houthi side. The militias› lack of commitment and their continuous aggression resulted from the absence of any real pressure from the UN or the international community. Those who are supporting them, financing them and planning on behalf of them are the main reason behind the humanitarian disaster in Yemen.


November 27, 2018
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